I hate ticks. I mean nobody really loves those creepy arachnids (maybe there’s some overenthusiastic entomologist out there who gets a kick out of such things). The second I see one clinging to my pants or I even enter an area I think might be home to them, my heart begins to race and my breathing quickens. On a recent backpacking trip to Tahquamenon Falls, I was just settling into my tent for the evening when I discovered one crawling on my leg. This revelation started me down a full blown panic attack that lasted nearly three hours and only ended when I eventually fell asleep out of exhaustion around 2 am.

Considering the state of the world and the infinitesimally limited arena of things we have control over, there are endless things to be anxious about. When we rightly reckon our size in the scope of the cosmos we might very well be filled with anxiety.

But this is not the way the Lord desires us to live.

Paul writes in his letter to the Philippian church that believers should, “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul presents here the method for combating anxiety. First, he sets the terms of his antidote: “do not be anxious about anything”. Not just small things. Not just big things. Nothing.

Secondly, Paul’s prescription for anxiety is to go to the Lord in prayer and plainly lay out our request. We should also do so thanking the Lord for who He is and what He has done already for us.

The next step is … well, there isn’t a next step, at least not one we accomplish. The next step isn’t something that we do but rather something that happens to us. The peace of God enters us and will guard our hearts (the seat of emotions) and our minds (the seat of cognitive will).

What I find most interesting is what is lacking from Paul’s formula. Nowhere does he state that the circumstances causing our anxiety will change. This distinction is remarkable since elsewhere in Scripture we hear about the efficacy of prayer. Here, however, Paul is dealing with our reaction to trials, not the trials themselves. Our attitude, Paul seems to maintain, should be one of peace regardless of what trouble circumstances bring. I imagine this is why Paul could claim that, “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Trouble will come. Jesus affirms this. Even the most stalwart of us knows the tug of fear on our heart. Though trials (both big and small) are guaranteed, we need not give in to our anxiety. With the comfort from our promised helper — the Holy Spirit, we can have victory over even the greatest worry and claim our true identities as people of peace.